Pony rides. Who doesn’t remember those at a carnival as a kid. Those ponies that plod around in a circle patiently giving a thrill to the little kid riding them.

I took these photos at a local festival yesterday, and as I started looking at each photo to choose which I would post, I looked at each pony and began to wonder…what are they thinking?

Pony 1: “Wonder if there’s a lot of hay in the barn; I’m gonna be hungry”

Pony 2: “Get off my back already”

Pony 3: “Don’t let that kid with the blue balloon near me”

Pony 4: “Whoa, how much does that kid weigh?”

Pony 5: “Where’s the boss? The kid fell off somewhere”

Pony 6: “Ah, I got a pass on this round”

I consulted with my daughter in law who has a degree in Veterinary Science, with a specialty in Equine Studies, to get her input on ponies at carnivals like this. I was thinking how cute this is, and then started wondering if this wasn’t such a good thing. Laura assured me that as long as the ponies looked well-tended, that it was good, that horses need a job to do. Who knew….horses need a job.

NB: Having traversed 288 days of Project 365, I hereby give myself administrative license to sometimes post photos during the week that I’ve taken over the weekend. I think you’ve seen enough of my garden and neighborhood.

I had never thought about captive animals needing something to do to avoid boredom, but it totally makes sense. I’m going to post the orders of the day for the neighborhood dogs in the morning. And yes, we could give cats jobs to do until the cows come home (ha ha…they literally do here where I live) and the cats would ignore it all.

I guess so, Shimon. I see far too many horse out in the surrounding fields enjoying the sunshine, they don’t seem to be working…. another thing on my task list for the morning, to talk to the ranch hands about the idleness of their horses. I have a busy day ahead of me.